This Time Around [Paperback]

Brent Dorian Carpenter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2002

In Egyptian mythology, the phoenix was a legendary bird of unspeakable beauty, unique of its kind, which lived in the desert and then consumed itself by fire, rising again from its ashes as a paragon of youth and splendor. On this day of infamy, May 20, 2059, a desert-dwelling city called Phoenix was similarly devoured in the flames of Armageddon, her incineration as certain as her legendary rebirth apocryphal. For the virtually imperceptible length of a mere nanosecond, a dwarf star shone hot and bright, kissing the Earth with blistering lips of stellar conflagration. A dozen dreams, a hundred, a thousand, a million more perhaps, evaporated in that sizzling, scintillating moment forever seared into eternity. In simultaneous synchronicity, one enigmatic fantasy, however, was wonderfully fulfilled. The fusion event twisted gravity for miles around, warping the space/time continuum, deforming reality itself. Fourth-dimensional barriers were rent asunder and a temporal phenomenon coalesced, never-before-existing and yet always-ever-there. Not magically but rather, methodically, the time sphere anomaly was born, neither here nor now, neither there nor then. And yet and still, it was. As predicted. As predicated. All that remained was for Terry Montgomery Tarrant to find it. That thing. Out there. Somewhere. In the desert. Before somebody else did. Not that anyone else would be looking for it. Only he knew what he was searching for. Only he knew it existed. He created it. It belonged to him. A temporal playground of unfathomable scale and consequence. And once he found it, mastery over Time itself would be his.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

...was born 19 April 1964 in Detroit, Michigan, the third of three sons, to Spencer and Carmen Carpenter. Influenced by his parents, both educators, the young Brent took a very early interest in subjects varying from astronomy, history, geography and paleontology. His early artistic endeavors involved scripting and drawing comic books. Brent founded Foundation Studios and fostered an environment for artistic creativity. His comic book publishing efforts garnered the attention of CNN, which resulted in an interview that was broadcast internationally. Deciding that his true talent and love was for writing, he began to concentrate his efforts along those lines. This Time Around was begun right after the May 2001 publication of his first novel Man Of The Cloth. The basic concept had been floating around in Brent's head for years, but his intention was to complete several other less challenging works before attempting to tackle a story with such an ambitious plot. Convinced by a close friend that MOTC had more than adequately prepared him for such an undertaking, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the project with the same relentless passion found in his previous work. This Time Around is the long-simmering treatise on the condition of the descendents of the African race. Concurrent to the production of this latest novel, Brent is also producing a biweekly column for the Michigan newspaper Between The Lines that he intends to collect into a book of essays, has drafted a screenplay of Man Of The Cloth for an independent Hollywood film producer, and has begun working on his next literary project: a coffee book bio/discography/music review of film score composer John Williams.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403319227
• ISBN-13: 978-1403319227
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,005,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brent you were correct. Thanks, Paris, September 2, 2004

By 

Only 1 Paris "paris" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Time Around (Hardcover)

THIS BOOK BLEW ME AWAY!!! I could not stop reading. This was the first book by a black gay man that I have read that did not start off with MY GRANDMOTHER... THANKS BRENT FOR CUTTING THE APRON STRINGS AND JUST BEING A BLACK GAY WRITER OF EXCELLENT FICTION.

To this day, I have a strong feeling that you were the main charactor/s. Not to give the plot away. You drew me into the book and you brung to life the people, the history, the love real between black gay men, and touch of comedy. Your blend of history, science, and current events we superb. I'm in love with "Old Terry".

The copy of the book you signed for me in Atlant is no longer in my presence but I found you now. I'm buying the hard copy and hope that one day you and I will meet again and you can sign the new book.

Thanks for being who you are.

One Love
Paris D. Marcel
Oakland

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting journey, July 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: This Time Around (Hardcover)

I started reading the book on the plane to Europe (how ironic) and just couldn't put it down. Right away, the plot struck me as very original, interesting and full of surprises (reflecting author's deep imagination). I just wanted to read on to find out what were going to happen next and how it all came together (or fell apart). I was impressed by the writer's ability to intertwine history with the future, fiction with facts always maintaining great respect for details, focus and accuracy. The author successfully attempted taking a less-than-traditionally-mainstream theme into the main focus providing subject matter to entrain, educate and - equally important - push readers' buttons.

What made this book stand out from the others is the attention-grabbing content, taking the reader on an adventurous and - what may appear in the beginning - innocent journey, combined with the brutal historic events and controversial science-fiction outcomes. Finally, basing the story around the gay and black/African motifs only added to the originality of this novel.